Inflatable fancy garments



ay 14, 1968 J. L... T. BARBOSA INFLATABLE FANCY GARMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 12, 1965 i //v vew m J0 .16! W; 7:314 3503/} May '14, 1968 J. L. T. BARBOSA INFLATABLE FANCY GARMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 12, 1965 AwAE/VTOK /o gg l (1/5 "8) United States Patent 0 1 Claim. for. z-se ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A costume portraying a fanciful figure and adapted to encompass the complete body of a wearer includes at least one inflatable portion to enhance the representation of the fanciful figure.

This invention relates to fancy garments and more particularly to an inflatable fancy garment suitable to be worn by children as a complete disguise which is inflated at low pressure to adapt it to an exterior fancy shape.

Disguises of all types, representing fancy or funny characters are well known in the art, but as far as applicant is aware of, all these disguises have been built in a single layer and the external form thereof is not accurate since they are completely loose in certain portions and therefore can be easily deformed by external agent's, thus being prone to early spoilage and/or temporary deformation. With the disguises of the prior art an accurate external form cannot be provided unless stiffeners of some sort are added to the garment and therefore these disguises are quite uncomfortable and preclude the motions of the body and head of the user.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an inflatable fancy garment comprising two layers of a plastic or rubber-like material, with the inner layer adapted to conform to the body of the user and the outer layer adapted to conform its shape to a fancy or funny character in order to provide a complete disguise.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable fancy garment of the above character, which also comprises an inflating valve and pipe assemblymoncealed in a strategic place of the garment and adapted to extend outwardly thereof in order to inflate the garment with air blown from the lungs of the user.

A more particular object of the present invention is to provide a garment of the above character, which comprises an access opening provided with a zipper or any other type of fastener which provides for the insertion and extraction of the garment from the body of the user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a partially inflatable garment wherein only a portion of the garment is inflatable while the remainder assumes the form of a single layer which will provide for greater comfort of the user, at the sacrifice of accuracy of external shape.

The novel [features which are considered characteristic of the present invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claim. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

'FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a child wearing a completely inflatable garment built in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional elevational view of the inflatable garment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional elevational view of a par- 3,382,504 Patented May 14, 1968 ice tially inflatable garment built in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, showing an inflatable head and a non-inflatable body:

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention, showing a completely covered inflatable garment which forms a complete disguise wherein only passages are provided for the eyes, nose and mouth to provide for vision, hearing and breathing of the user; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional elevational view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4.

Having now more particular reference to the drawings, and more specifically to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, there is shown a fancy garment in the form of a parrot which comprises a head 1 and a body 2, with limb-s 19 and 2t) and with an open beak 24 which when inflated leaves a cavity 9 to expose the face of the user.

The inflatable garment of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings is built of an outer layer 3 of plastic or rubber-like material with a thickness sutficient to be self-supporting when inflated and to provide the external shape of the fancy or funny character which in this particular case assumes the form of a parrot as mentioned above. The garment also comprises an inner layer 4 integrally joined with the outer layer 3 along the joint line ill of the beak and also along the lines 5 of the openings 18 to fit to the ankles of the user. This inner layer of plastic or rubber-like material 4 can be provided, if desired, with a smaller thickness than layer 3, because when inflated, layer 4 will be supported by the body and head of the user to which it will conform so that the inner pressure of the inflated chainher 7 will be compensated for by the backing provided throughout the body and head of the user.

The two above mentioned layers of flexible material are joined or anchored together in a plurality of places by means of links 8 in order to avoid undue separation thereof when the garment is inflated and enable the garment to behave as a unit.

The body portion 2 of the garment is provided with a pair of openings 16 for the arms of the user and a pair of openings 18 for the ankles and feet of the user, in order to provide comfort and liberty of movements. In the particular embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the limbs are not inflatable and are formed as a pair of wings 19 closed at their outer ends but having a plurality of oriflees 17 for the fingers, so that the child will be able to grasp saidwings 19 by means of his hand through the orifices 17.

As a projection of the edge at the openings 18, the garment is provided with two feet 6 simulating the claws of a parrot or other animal. These feet are formed of a single thick layer 6 of rubber-like material to cover the shoes of the user over their uppers as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

The garment is completed by the provision of a tube 11 provided at the outer layer 3, with a check valve 12, if desired, and an inflating valve 13 which can be used to inflate the garment by means of the lungs of the user, or by any other means, such as a pump or other mechanical means. This assembly for the inflation of the garment preferably is provided under one of the limbs 19 so as to perfectly conceal it when not in use. A fastener (not shown) can be provided to fix the inflating assembly 11, 12, 13 in concealed position under the arm of the user as clearly sho-wn in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

It is desirable, though not indispensable, to provide an access opening having a fast closure means such as a zipper 14- with a grip 15 so as to open the garment to put in on or off the body of the user.

In FIG. 3 of the drawings a garment featuring a fancy figure similar to that of FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown, but

3 comprising only an inflatable head and a non-inflatable body, all the parts of this figure equivalent to those already described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 being.

designated by like reference charactersand it is not considered necessary to describe it in detail, inasmuch as the only difference is that the inner layer 4 ends at the neck of the garment, and that the outer layer 3 runs all the way down from head to feet of the user. Of course that in this particular case the inflating assembly (not shown) can be provided also under one of the limbs 19 but by leading the tube through a suitable duct into the inflatable portion of the garment which is only on the top of the body. Otherwise, both embodiments of the invention as shown are quite similar in performance and use with the embodiment of FIG. 3 providing more comfort at the sacrifice of a completely unafi'ectable and accurate external shape.

FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings depictanother preferred embodiment of the invention, though it must be understood that said drawings must not be construed as limitative of the invention since a plurality of different external shapes of the fancy garment is possible without thereby departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The basic difference be'tweenthis embodiment of the invention and those already described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3, is that the present fancy garment is not provided with a large opening 9 at the head to expose the face of the user, but instead is provided with a plurality of passages, viz., two passages 21 at a proper position to be located in front of the eyes of the user so as to provide for the vision through the garment, one passage 22 matching with the nose and mouth of the user to provide for breathing, two openings or passages 25 for the ears and a plurality of openings 23 and 24 for ventilation purposes.

In this particular case the arms of the garment are also inflatable and adopt the form of tubes into which the arms are engaged, also having a plurality of openings .17 for the fingers of the user.-

The lower portion of the garment is completely open through an opening or cavity 25 through which part of the legs and feet of the user are projected downwardly to provide freedom of movements. Otherwise, the garment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings is quite similar in its structure and performance to the garment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof.

The garments of FIGS. 4 and 5 are not limited to the use of a closure 14, as the fancy garment of FIGS. 1 and 2, because the cavity or opening provides enough room for the child to get into the garment much in the manner of a blouse.

In order to use the fancy garment provided by the present invention it is highly recommendable to place it on the body and head of the user prior to inflating the same, and to locate the pipe and valveinflating assembly in a placesuch that the valve will reach the mouth of the user when wearing the garment, in order to proceed to the inflation thereof without the need of external aid.

While in the above described embodiments of the invention opening-s having some specific type of fasteners have been described to provide access into the garment, it must be understood that any other equivalent of said fasteners can be used, such as buttons, broaches, snapping fasteners and the like.

The links 8 are preferably built of the same material as the layers 3 and 4, and are placed in locations Where it is most necessary to limit the outward motion of layer 4 when inflated and in locations having too large free spans between both layers 3 and 4, to serve the purpose of forming a somewhat solid and self-supporting assembly throughout.

While the present invention has been described in terms of certain specific and preferred embodiments thereof, many changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art without thereby departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A costume comprising head, body, arm and leg portions for encompassing and covering substantially the complete body of a wearer, said head portion having at least one opening for visual and breathing purposes by the wearer, said arm portions being closed at their outer ends and having openings on the inner side adjacent the ends thereof for passage of the wearers fingers therethrough, said leg portions being open at their free ends for passage of the wearers feet, foot covering members secured to said leg portions in surrounding relation to the open ends thereof, said portions being arranged to portray a fanciful figure, at least one of said portions comprising double walls of air impervious material sealed together forming an inflating chamber therebetween and means for inflating said chamber to conform the inner of said double walls to the related part of the body of the wearer and to comform the outer of said double walls to the configuration of the fanciful figure.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,004,737 10/1911 Brewster 22 1,726,939 9/1929 Anderson. 2,006,373 7/1935 Thompson 279 2,608,690 9/1952 Kol'b et al. 2,762,047 9/1956 Flagg et al. 22 1,141,1116, 6/1915 Horvath 9-330 1,256,594 2/1918 Rodal 22 FOREIGN PATENTS 957,085 5/1964 Great Britain.

' JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Examiner. 

